Initial evaluation of Stilwell: A multimedia virtual community

Narrative pedagogy has emerged in the last decade as a new approach designed to complement the conventional approaches to education. It is concerned with understanding the meaning of events to people, appreciating multiple perspectives and the emotional content of health care. However there is a paucity of evaluative research concerning its impact. We have used narrative pedagogy to create Stilwell, a realistic narrative telling the stories of 60 characters living in a typical community. Stilwell is a real place (fictional name) and our multimedia model brings the community to life as a virtual practicum for a wide range of health professional students. This paper presents the results of our initial focus group evaluation of student learning experiences with Stilwell. The data indicates students found it a very different way of learning which allowed them to relate theory to practice in ways they had never done before. The realism of Stilwell was a challenge and generated considerable student emotional involvement with the characters, leading to significant novel learning activity. We reflect on how student feedback has allowed us to shape and improve Stilwell as it develops.